Au Xin Ru
I am a multidisciplinary designer who is establishing a niche in branding and art direction. I aim to expand my skill sets while seeking challenges. That way, my imagination can be limitless.
All Hail the Single Woman!
Today’s financially independent single women between 27-35 years of age are pressurised regarding their marital status. Most of them are unable to express their annoyance subtly to the instigators, usually colleagues, friends or family members. Through personal experiences, I too was not spared from the judgement of being single. While the ‘single woman’ stigma is not as prominent in Singapore as compared to other countries, we are still haunted by aged beliefs in this contemporary age, albeit mostly behind the scenes.
SOUL is a fashion brand which becomes a vehicle for the single woman’s protest movement – All Hail the Single Woman. It seeks to celebrate women’s singlehood and empower single women to express themselves. Messages are applied onto D.I.Y (do-it-yourself) denims, an act associated with protests and rebellions.
Beyond the Curtains of Asylum
People between 18 to 35 years of age encounter uncertainty and dilemma when it comes to making choices due to multitudes of experiences in life. In the notion of self, a reason one often tries to stay within their comfort zone while weighing the consequences could be due to recurring thoughts in their mind of what could be ‘bad’ without embracing the good. They are unable to move beyond to the next phase of action.
An experimental film Draw the Curtains of Asylum used the analogy of “life’s rich tapestry” and encouraged its target audiences to embrace the multitudes of experiences and to look beyond what they can already ‘see’, giving hope and possibilities that each action would bring. Vertical cinema application is used specifically for social media in order to reach out to the audience.
Take a Mental Break
Workaholics between 25 to 36 years of age are unable to disengage from work even after work hours. Social media blurs the boundaries between work and life which may cause burnout if they are unable to strike a balance for themselves. Research shows that contents contribution can increase personal satisfaction levels such as replying to emails. Most people choose satisfaction over balance when it comes to work which is detrimental to their mental health.
The editorial illustration with multiple symbolism aims to get attention from readers through using Alan’s Watts saying, “For when we fail to see that our life is change, we set ourselves against ourselves and become like Ouroboros, the misguided snake, who tries to eat his own tail. Ouroboros is the perennial symbol of all vicious circles, of every attempt to split our being asunder and make one part conquer the other”. It conveys the message that we will inflict problems on ourselves if we do not take a mental break.
